James said the star shared sensitive and private information without him despite having just met

“George seemed OK, but he was a world away from the confident, charismatic and happy man I had met all those years before. They were two different men. My impression was that he could have been looked after a bit better.”

James added: “I’m sure he would not have invited me in if he hadn’t been lonely.

“Once I was there he was very chatty, and had a lot of energy. We were talking about David Bowie, and he said that he was a great fan of his.

“He was really encouraging about my music. I told him I’d auditioned for the X Factor in 2007 and he said I should go for it again.”

“He wished me the best, signed an autograph for me and said, ‘You know where I am’. He was an incredibly generous man and I was so upset when I learned that he had died.”

George, who fought a long battle against drugs, had been spending more time at his rural Oxfordshire pad to escape the temptations of life in London.

But the switch meant he cut an increasingly reclusive figure.

Another source said: “He may have been away from the temptations of London, but George was also cut off in the countryside. None of his trusted circle of friends were around and this meant he spent more and more time on his own.

“He was desperate for anyone to spend time with — no matter who they were.”

George was found dead in bed on the morning of December 25 by his boyfriend Fadi Fawaz, who went to his house because the pair were planning to go for lunch.

The singer’s manager Michael Lippman said he died following a suspected cardiac arrest.

Thames Valley Police have said George’s death is being treated as “unexplained but not suspicious”.

George Michael recalls his thoughts of fame as a child in this touching interview

In an interview about the illness in 2012, the superstar explained: “One ­afternoon I was having lunch and suddenly felt really odd and said I need to go and lay down. That’s the last thing I remember for five weeks. I woke up this feeble old man.”

Sources also said they believed George’s long-term love Kenny Goss will inherit a huge chunk of the singer’s estimated £105million fortune — as George had not updated his will since the pair split in 2009.

The couple were together for 13 years and American art dealer Kenny lived with George at his property in Highgate.

One source said: “George made a will when he was together with Kenny and — as far as anyone knows — he has not changed it.

“Kenny lived with him full-time so will be in line for the biggest share of money.

Stars campaign for George Michael's Careless Whisper royalties to go to charity

“He is a generous guy so may not want it all.

“But George did not think he was going to die and, for a lot of the time since he split from Kenny, wasn’t in the best frame of mind to be thinking about a will.

“I am sure his sisters Melanie and Yioda will be looked after, as well as other family, but Kenny is likely to be the main recipient.”

GEORGE'S DOWNTOWN OBSESSION

GEORGE Michael was an “obsessive Downton Abbey fan”, a pal has revealed..

He “talked for an hour” about his love for the ITV period drama to reality star Dawn Ward during a 2014 charity dinner at his North London home.

Housewives of Cheshire star Dawn added: “He said it was his absolute favourite show.”

In 2011 an advert for the show’s festive special featured a choir covering his hit Last Christmas.